1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with

Dodger Thoughts reader Michael Popek owns a bookstore 20 minutes from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, so you can imagine he sees a lot of fun baseball history on a regular basis. Popek was kind enough to pass along this Lyle Spencer article from the 1981 Dodger Yearbook, entitled "'High Five': Trademark of the Dodgers".

The article tells the tale of the orignal high five between Dodger outfielders Glenn Burke and Dusty Baker, pinpointing it as coming after Baker's grand slam in Game 2 of the 1977 National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers and their fans are ecstatic as Baker tours the bases behind his three teammates, but the ultimate expression of the moment doesn't come until Dusty approaches the dugout.

Out jumps outfielder Glenn Burke, the man who has kept his team loose and laughing all season with his cassette player, his dancing, his unique clubhouse manner.

Burke winds up as Baker nears the dugout steps and Dusty does the same. Their right arms extend to the skies, their hands meet in a resounding slap that defines perfectly the impact of this moment.

"That's right," Dusty Baker says, smiling handsomely with the recollection of the magic moment. "That was it. The first 'High Five.' "

Bob Timmermann of The Griddle told me in an e-mail that Baker took the high five very seriously.

"The high five was a big deal in a 1982 brawl between the Dodgers and Padres," Timmermann said. "Dusty Baker felt that the Padres weren't accomplished enough to high five each other on the field and he started a brawl with Padres second baseman Juan Bonilla.

"There were numerous stories about it in 1982. It was in the game story, and Scott Ostler devoted a whole column to high-fiving and the ethics behind it."

By this time - in fact, by the time Spencer's article was written, Burke was out of the big leagues - so it's not clear what inspired him to raise his arm in the air instead of doing the conventional 1970s low five. His absence from the team and Spencer's article (as far as being quoted) is unremarked upon, but knowing that Burke is one of the few baseball players in history to later divulge that he was homosexual, it's hard not to notice that Spencer described Burke as "the man who brought the 'High Five' out of the closet."

Remembering Burke, who died of AIDS in 1995, normally makes me sad, so it's a nice change to think of him keeping his teammates loose and laughing in the clubhouse.

I didn't hear the call, but I heard the announcer recap the day's high (Furcal stealing second) and the low (Navarro hurting his hamstring). I'm not sure of the severity of the injury, but the Dodgers were batting at the time.

Great write up Jon. I'd love to see Dusty back in the organization, but probably not as a manager. I think he'd be an upgrade over Grits, but his poor handling of young pitchers and questionable lineups (Neifi Perez batting 2nd, Corey Patterson batting leadoff), probably don't make him a good fit. He is a good in game manager (besides the fact the he wears down his young pitchers). I think the thing with his pitchers might have to do with his pitching coach though.

Old friend Reggie Abercombie is lighting up spring training. From BA
"The biggest surprise in Marlins camp so far has been outfielder Reggie Abercrombie. A 23rd-round pick of the Dodgers out of Lake City (Fla.) Community College in 1999, Abercrombie always has enticed scouts with his tools, but has never been able to put it all together. In six minor league seasons, Abercrombie has nearly an 8-1 strikeout-walk ratio (793-to-121) in 2,582 at-bats and has never played above Double-A.

But the 25-year-old outfielder has figured some things out through a stint in the AFL and now in big league camp, working both times with roving hitting instructor John Mallee. "As much of a surprise as it might seem, Reggie has been working his tail off," Mallee said. "He's getting consistent extension through the zone, working to his strength and not giving pitchers that out pitch--not chasing a lot like he'd done previously. He's having a breakthrough spring and everyone should be taking notice."

Through 26 at-bats in big league camp, Abercrombie is hitting .500/.519/.885 with a pair of homers. But perhaps more importantly, he's being much more selective. Though he has yet to draw a walk, Abercrombie has whiffed just three times."

26
I doubt that it will allow you to use the same login at the same time. I've tried to use the MLB audio package at the same time from different parts of my house and it has refused me and has even refused me when I've closed one game, went to another system and tried to log in. From a program point of view it is very easy to block a login from using multiple logins and MLB would have to be very shortsited to allow it to happen for the very reason you mentioned.

32 - I never thought the Navarro/Martin combo would be a good idea because economically, a veteran catcher is not going to cost you that much and since you never use the second catcher unless you are out of pinch hitters or there is some need for a double switch, whoever doesn't play is not going to have many chances.

The Braves will face a similar situation with their catchers and there is already talk of moving their prospect to first base because McCann is their man.

I would say an ideal amount of games for a catcher to start is around 120-130, which is about a day off a week excluding any platoon factors. I'm sure that is what Ned was thinking with the Alomar signing.

"Learning first base, at least it's the infield. The outfield is totally different than the infield. I knew [first base] would take a lot of work and not be easy. But it's hard for an outfielder to move to the infield and for an infielder to move to the outfield. Everything is different. It's not as easy as it sounds."

42. King of the Hobos
In and around the Dodgers ballclub, there is minimal support for the most popular fan scenario -- move Nomar Garciaparra to left field, Jeff Kent to first base and Izturis to second base.

Its only one game---but in spring training that could get magnified attention. Todays winners: Martin,Repko, and Carter. I like the first and I'm neutral on the next two. You have to credit performance, then find out if it is only the ability to start quickly !

BTW just saw this old item but since it has been a week and he hasn't pitched in a game, Mike Megrew, the lefthanded pitcher who was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Marlins from the Dodgers last year pitched briefly (he walked 4 batters) and right now it does appear unlikely that he would stay on their 25 man roster.

The other Dodger that was a Rule 5 pick, Luis Gonzalez (no, not that Luis Gonzalez), was drafted by the Rockies and then traded to the Mariners, he has pitched a little bit so I guess he is in the running for their specialty lefty role.

Lest anyone get too excited about Repko, these were his spring stats last year:

.325/.349/.525

He's currently at

.346/.452/.577

While he's at least on pace to beat his isolated patience (no surprise, we know he has at least average patience) his average and power numbers could easily end up the same by the end of Spring. In other words, Repko proably hasn't figured it all out yet.

i dont think repko is going to be as horrible as last year, he will definately improve. I just question how much will he improve. we will see though. he will make the roster as a 5th outfielder and might get some starts early on.

Did anyone ever suggest, after Nomar was signed, that it might be a better infield with Nomar at 2nd Kent at 1b? Nomar is pretty good defensively and it might have been easier to move him to 2nd than to 1st. while Kent does have experience at 1st and altho he has been quite good since becoming a Dodger, 1b might have been a better fit for the team.

All this speculation before Ceasar was feeling better. Now it seems as if there is no room for Izzy. But Nomar is having a horrible spring. Do you revisit the idea of Kent at 1st & Furcal & Izzy in the middle. OR you trade Izzy and let Aybar mature for another year, then replace Kent with Aybar. (and Nomar with Looney?)

According to Gammons, Depo offered Nomar $27m to play 2B. When Nomar said no, Depo signed Kent.
Scouts say Nomar's arm action isn't suitable for 2B. A couple of clubs backed off him there for that reason. Further, there's reason to believe he'd be more likely to get hurt there.

In Dewan's The Fielding Bible, he has this to say about Nomar's shortstop skills:

"Injuries have limited his range and he's been horrible on the double plays in recent years."

If Repko follows up his hot spring and gives us his 2005 April OPS of 849 I'll be more then happy to see him play CF against LHP for one month. Then if Ned is on the ball he'll flip him when Werth is healthy enough to take his spot as the RH platoon CF for Lofton. Of course the odds of Werth being healthy enough seem to be fading everyday.

Just finished reading the Brewer portion of BP 2006 and I knew that Melvin was doing a great job as the Brewer GM but I didn't realize how good he was doing. That is a team in desperate need of a young catcher as D Miller is now 36 but I don't think Ned would be able to win a trade with him. So far he's outfoxed Beane, Schuerholz, and Williams.

Nice to see Grittle gave Aybar one whole PA today.
Aybar has a good approach at the plate, but that's so unusual for a player who came up the LA farm system that I suspect the Dodger do not appreciate him. I wouldn't mind seeing Aybar get a shot with Oakland or Boston -- it would be a better environment for him.

OT, but Nate Silver has a nice little piece at BP on plate discipline.

And I just got my copy of The Book, by Tango, Lichtman and someone (not in front of me at the moment). It's really good. If you have any friends who are "old school" fans because they see th SABR learning curve a little too steep for their time, but who are open-minded, this book (THE BOOK) is a great intro.

I like Sheets too and hope he comes back. I rate Melvin among the best GMs. And I know he had good reasons for signing Sheets. Still, guaranteeing $40 million (four years) to a pitcher can be thought imprudent, especially when your payroll projects at about $60 milion. No question, Melvin had a tough decision to make. On top of everything else, his boss, a new owner, wanted to make a splash and the season-ticket base was dwindling by the day.

I get very little joy out of anything like I get out of telling my friend the Cardinals fan to enjoy 2006 (if applicable), since they are going to get routed by Milwaukee for the next decade and a half.

I just went on Amazon and bought the book "Fantasyland." My one experience last year with fantasy baseball, which I had avoided for years, was a gigantic disaster -- I couldn't co-exist with statistics like batting average, runs scored, RBI, and stolen bases.

Now I realize it'd be hard to write a column every couple of days, and I'm sure I'd say plenty of ridiculous stuff. (Heck, I do 100 words of comments a day and manage to squeeze in plenty of dopiness just there.) But Jason Stark has written a serious column proposing that the WBC be split into two parts, with the tournament played down to four teams during a week of Spring training than finished four months later during the All-Star break.

Um, huh?

I had a teacher once who used wonderful phrase "that stinks of the lamp" to describe an idea that has been laboriously and sort of academically worked out, and that is just trying to hard. To me, Stark's idea stinks of the lamp.

I would rather see Repko beat Project BROTheR the honest way then have his "fans" continue to insult their own intelligence, much less ours, by insisting a .220 hitting Dr. Strangeglove has any purpose on a major league roster.

cold comfort, I know, Steve, but Gigantor is getting some love from the league internet news guy: "Right-hander Jon Rauch had his best outing of the spring, giving up one run in five innings. He struck out six batters and walked one."

I get very little joy out of anything like I get out of telling my friend the Cardinals fan to enjoy 2006 (if applicable), since they are going to get routed by Milwaukee for the next decade and a half

Where's the Brewer love coming from? Trading Podsednik for Carlos Lee definitely a good trade for the Brewers. Trading Sexson for some spare parts, eh... not so good. Capuano is a serviceable starter but did they get anything else? Weeks and Prince Fielder are just prospects at the moment. Do they have any dominant pitching? Sheets is ok but way overrated by some IMO. His stats dont back up his hype. I had a debate with some guy like 3 yrs ago who was saying it was a bad move for the A's to draft Zito ahead of Sheets. That has yet to be proven even currently, and probably will never be.

Whats the difference between the Brewers stock piling some young players and the Marlins? They're both small market clubs but the young talent the Marlins I see as much greater than what the Brewers have accumulated. And the Marlins star shined for like 1yr before they sold everyone off.

Ok you're right. I've heard the name Capellan and knew he was a prospect. Interesting that the Brewers resigned Kolb this off-season.

They've won some trades for sure. How big of 'win' I'm not really sure? I think dealing Sexson and getting back what they got back was a loss, considering how good Sexson was at the time they traded him.

It did work out bad for the dbax bc Sexson got hurt, but I didnt think they gave up too much. Just a bunch of spare parts for a legit power hitter. I'd make that same trade again if I were the Dbax. Cant blame a guy for getting hurt. THats bad luck.

91 I agree. Don't even get me started on the aimless meandering wasteful offseason of the Nationals. So much money squandered on contracts for non-roster players -- if they'd made some tougher decisions this offseason and come to camp with 55 players instead of 75, they'd have had money to sign Jeff Weaver, who would be valuable to the Nationals, given where they're at pitchingwise.

But who's to say Pedro Astacio and Ramon Ortiz and Ryan Drese won't all have career years and carry the Nationals to the pennant.

As long as the Cards have Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen, they can stick any out machine around those 3 and score runs. Pujols is just about the perfect hitter. He doesnt have the Bonds effect yet, but its close. The Giants put Bonds with 8 stiffs and the Giants still were in the upper echelon of runs scored even after Kent left.

Granted, the Brewers do probably have the most high upside young players. But they dont have the mega star to build around like the Cards do with Pujols. And they dont have the payroll to match the Cards either. The Cards have gotten lucky over the years with the Mark McGwire giveaway by the A's (worst trade Alderson ever made, perhaps the worst trade of the last 20yrs when you look at what McGwire did in STL and what the A's got back), Jim Edmonds for Bottenfield/Kennedy, and developing Pujols in their system. They also got Renteria for basically nothing. Maybe their luck will run out.

You gotta give Jocketty a mulligan for the Encarnacion/Bigbie deals, after his Renteria, Edmonds, McGwire steals.

they got 60 percent of their startng rotation, a backup catcher, a pitching prospect and an outfield prospect. That's a pretty good haul.

I forgot about Overbay. He was decent. Overbay/Capuano arent bad but I sort of prefer keeping superstar caliber players (like Sexson was), and using the farm system to develop depth. Now if Sexson was gone either way, then sure let him go. But considering they took on Carlos Lee, why was it a foregone conclusion that Sexson was leaving?

Walt Jocketty runs a very high risk strategy: be willing to give up the world for superstar players. When it works, the team is really good, if he makes one mistake in identifying who a superstar is (Mulder for example), he's screwed.

After this year, the Cardinals lose Edmonds, leaving them with two bats in the lineup, and no farm system. They're one Pujols or Edmonds injury away from second place already, without Edmonds and a suddenly gimpy Rolen, it's hard to see this team doing anything any time soon.

Walt Jocketty runs a very high risk strategy: be willing to give up the world for superstar players.

That would be my strategy if I ran a large market club like the Dodgers or Cards. If you make a mistake, there's usually should be enough money there to overcome it.

My preference of a roster would be filled with cheap rookies and superstars. No in between. Some others differ.

I also forgot Jocketty's Scott Rolen giveaway too. Bud Smith/Placido Polanco for Rolen. I was so disappointed that Evans didnt give up Beltre for Rolen in 2002. At least the Dodgers got that 2004 season out of Beltre, so its not a complete mess up.

torra was the most talented but due to being overworked at umass, tore his labrum and had massive shoulder surgery last summer. the dbacks kept it very hush hush and the news leaked around january. Ownings is promising but im just not a fan.

Anyone notice the comment by LA Times automobile writer Dan Neil the other day about Hyundai? "If we've learned anything from companies like Hyundai, Asian carmakers mature quickly." Maybe he should have contrasted that with Asian ballplayers? http://tinyurl.com/lnmmw

Does anyone know which radio station (if any) in the LA area is carrying the NCAA Tournament? I don't have the patience to be #2,317,240 in the queue to watch it on the internet. (Dumbest...idea...ever...even...more...than...Baez)

94
1. Traded Kolb a "closer" to the Braves for their number one pitching prospect "Capellan". Even if Capellan doesn't pan out, they got rid of someone at the top of their game which doesn't happen often.
2. Traded Ginter to the A's for Justin Lehr and
Nelson Cruz (December 16, 2004). While Ginter became useless, Lehr gave some decent relief but Nelson Cruz is the key player. Come 2007 he will replace Lee as the starting LF and when you can get a starting LF for a AAAA infielder you've done a fine job. He's 26 but were looking at a someone who should post a 780-840 OPS in his prime. Nothing great but projects to just about the same as Nick Swisher.
3. Podboy for Carlos Lee. Again trading a player at the height of his career for a slugger. Lee is no superstar but he is in the upper echelon of leftfielders while Podboy is barely adequate as a CF and less so as a LF.
4. The Sexson trade was hardly spare parts.
Sexson was traded for
Capuano - 219 innings, 3.99 ERA, Number 2 starter
Spivey - Started at 2nd and kept the place warm for Weeks and when Weeks was ready was flipped for Tomo Ohka was is now their 4th starter. Last year he gave them 126 inning of 4.35 baseball and in 846 innings has a career ERA of 3.95
Counsel - Started at SS and kept the place warm while JJ Hardy was getting ready and then was allowed to leave as a FA.
Lyle Overbay - Starting 1st baseman for 2 years, and then was flipped again the height of his career for David Bush who will be the 5th starter and Zach Jackson who projects to be a 3/4 starter.
Chad Moeller - now that is uselss
DeLaRosa - LH relief pitcher who so far has not been much.
So the final haul for a FA to be was 3 current starting pitchers(Capuano, Bush, Ohka), and one solid pitching prospect(Zach Jackson).
5. Picked up Doug Davis on waiver from his old team and he is now a solid number 3 wiht over 200 innings in the last two years while also posting a sub 4.00 ERA.
Now that is what you call filling out your rotation.

Player Management:
In the 1st half of 2006, JJ Hardy hit 187/293/267 which is as horrible as you can hit. Did the Brewers panic and send him back to AAA like 25 other franchises would have done and install Bill Hall as the SS. No, they let him play and they were rewarded with the best SS in the NL when he posted a 308/363/503 line. This is an all-star SS. Prince Fielder will be an all-star 1st baseman. Weeks will be fighting Utley for the right to start in the all-star classic over the next 10 years. Their number one pick in 2005 was Braun a 3b who only posted a 1041 OPS in his 1st taste of ML ball and BP projects him to be a stud, so it is very possible that by 2008 the Brewer infield could be the best in baseball.
That is why the Brewers are getting so much love these days, because they earned it.

146
It is to the Dodger benefit that Sele continue to pitch well. If the Cubs were to actually lose Prior I could see a team like them panicking and making a minor deal for Sele. Sele has no chance of being the 5th starter for us unless one of our 5 go down so anything he can do to increase his value is good not bad.

Lots of good stuff on Melvin's track record. As for the Lee trade, yes, a good one for Milwaukee, but also a good one for the CWS.

Podsednik was an excellent fit for the CWS, a factor in winning their first WS since 1917. No small thing obviously. Their run suppression skills were strong, and he certainly was a factor there.

John Dewan's The Fielding Bibles seems to affirm what scouting personnel said about Podsednik's defensive work in LF. I quote:

"Our plus/minus system shows what a defensive asset it is to have a center fielder in left. Podsednik, Coco Crisp and Reed Johnson are all natural CFs playing left. Based on their performances in 2005 a rule of thumb might be that a CF will gain you about 15-20 enhanced plays over the course of a season playing LF."

(In the same vein, the LAD should look at Lofton in LF with Drew in CF, but I digress)

I had doubts about Pod. Still do. But that was certainly a win-win trade. Kudos to Kenny Williams.

*Traded Ginter to the A's for Justin Lehr and
Nelson Cruz (December 16, 2004). While Ginter became useless, Lehr gave some decent relief but Nelson Cruz is the key player. Come 2007 he will replace Lee as the starting LF and when you can get a starting LF for a AAAA infielder you've done a fine job. He's 26 but were looking at a someone who should post a 780-840 OPS in his prime.*

How can you refer to Keith Ginter as a AAAA infielder, but in the same vain assert Nelson Cruz is a 'key' player, when by your own admission Cruz wont make his debut for the Brewers until 2007, when he'll be 27yrs old.

Ginter at age 27, put up 14HR's- .779OPS for the Brewers in 2003.

In 2004 at age 28, he hit 19HR's with an .812 OPS.

I'll be surprised if Nelson Cruz ever puts up those numbers. Even if he did, he's still playing OF while Ginter was a 2nd basemen.

Granted Ginter did tank for the A's, but at the time getting a 2nd basemen with some pop didnt seem like a bad idea. I'm not sure I'd categorize Ginter as a AAAA player, nor would I say that Cruz is a 'key' player. They look similar to me except Ginter had actually produced at the MLB level.

Does Cruz really have more upside than Ginter, considering Ginter played middle infield and got to the majors a year earlier?

Even if Capellan doesn't pan out, they got rid of someone at the top of their game which doesn't happen often

Wouldnt ideally you'd get rid of someone 'at the top of their game', for a major league ready player. Trading one closer, for another closing prospect, doesnt seem like its a benefit either way. I credit teams with trading peak value big leaguers, for other big leaguers. Trading peak value mlb'ers, for prospects seems the lesser of the two. If its a case of "At least they got something before Kolb tanked", I'd agree. But there's a lot to be said about the 'something' they acquiried. Trading a closer for a prospect doesnt seem like a case of 'working the other GM' over.

I agree with most of your other points though. If Sexson was for sure gone, they didnt do bad at flipping him for some useful parts. I'd hold off proclaiming Weeks and Fielder as future All Stars until they at least produce somethign at the MLB level.

153
Time will tell, I expect Nelson Cruz to be at the least a valuable 4th outfielder and at the most a starting LF during his cheap and peak years, a nice combo. BP and HQ like him and expect him to be a starter and he was the 8th best prospect according to BA in a loaded Brewer system. Here is what BA said when asked about the trade:
" Jason from Castro Valley, CA asks:
Can my Oakland A's void the Kieth Ginter for Nelson Cruz trade of last year? We got fleeced!!! How good will Cruz be?
A:

John Manuel: It's over and done with. I've never been a Ginter guy, though it's hard to dismiss what he did in 2004. Cruz looks like a solid corner outfielder, a right fielder with power tools (arm and bat) who will have to make consistent enough contact to be a regular. I think he is good enough to be a regular, just not a star, and right now, there's no opening in Milwakee and I think Corey Hart is more ready, better and more versatile. Cruz may have to be patient."

but I'm sure your much better at projecting prospects then they are. His MLE's look very promising but then what does Bill James know.

This is bull, teams are in OT, they are both gassed and then the officials take forever to check the camera's and both teams get a break from the action for much to long. Part of game is having the legs to handle OT.

168
LaRoche got 6 of his in one inning. Everyone roots against Repko but he's doing what he needs to do to make the team. In fact everyone in the outfield race is doing a job from Ross to Repko to Guzman. To bad ST stats aren't very usefull for Major League production. Rudy Law anyone:)

I wonder how a school like UOP stays on the Division I level. It's a fairly large school for its type, but it's managed to keep its tuition down compared to other school of its type. But it's still not cheap. I would wonder why someone decides to go there.

It's in Stockton! Not exactly California's Finest City.

(Bob ducks as UOP grads and people from Stockton throw things at him.)

UOP is a fairly small private school where you can still get a lot of individual attention which is attractive to a lot of people. Although they gave up trying to field a football program several years ago, Bob Thomason does a great job of getting solid players to come there and they have a good facility (Spanos Center)for a school of this type.

As you drive north on I-5 you will eventually see the seemingly out of place sign "Port of Stockton". I don't know if Stockton is the easternmost Pacific Ocean port in the U.S. The twin ports of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI are the westernmost Atlantic ports.

Actually, I don't know a single VOL fan that thought they should have been a 2 seed. That said, Tennessee is very weak inside, but if Lofton and anyone else gets hot, they can make up for that in a hurry.

in a press conference on Thursday at Knology Park, the Blue Jays announced that they had agreed to a three-year, $40 million contract extension with their prize pitcher through the 2010 season. Halladay, who had been signed through 2007, will make $10 million in 2008, $14.25 million in 2009 and $15.75 million in 2010.

221- he's not a scrappy player, who can put down sac bunts, hit and run, and dive headfirst into 1B. He's a solid defender with an above average arm. He has good gap power and decent eye at the plate. I'm sure he'd be more productive than Repko.

Don't like the Halladay extension. He's a great pitcher, when healthy, but this is a huge risk. They should have waited to see how he performed this year.

I don't really get too excited about ST, but at the same time it's just nice knowing Opening Day is almost here. People don't seem to get that most pitchers are working on certain pitches (that's usually an advantage to the hitters).

I can't believe that I was worried that I couldn't seem to switch my UCLA v Belmont pick back to UCLA, becuase I've already missed Oklahoma, Marquette and Nevada.

Is the UCLA-Belmont game that weird one on CBS that falls in a timeslot that usually nobody put the people interested in get to see?

There's usually one game that CBS misses because they have to give some time back to the affiliates to show local news.

Should I be grateful that Tennessee almost lost a 2-15 game? There can't be two close games of that type in one year can there? Or is the same theory employed by people who pack in a bomb in their suitcase knowing that the odds of two people on one flight with a bomb are astronomical.

240 - It was to be that, but it was going to be shown in Los Angeles. (Stanford used to get the slot every year - only it wouldn't be shown here.) But with the bomb scare, I don't know what the plan is. I assume in Los Angeles they'll show it whenever.

Grittle/Ned sure ain't. The kid got to bat leadoff two days ago and responded with a big game. The next two games, he gets one whole PA each time out. That he managed to draw a walk each time speaks well of him.
I'm no fan of spring stats, but since you mentioned his OBP being under .350, a .342 OBP ain't awful, especially after he started out like a dead man. The bigger thing is, do the Dodgers know how to develop hitters? Recent history say no. This kid has a good approach at the plate. He works the count. Pretty good W and K ratios in his five years and just turned 23. Those ndicators aren't guarantees of success, but they tend to bode well. I just get the feeling the Dodgers don't care about that stuff and to some extent, Willy himself.

When you make teams like Nevada (!) a 5 seed, you are just asking for an upset. I wonder if the selection committee sits around thinking ... hmm, who can we make a 5 seed that will seem plausible but will lose ... so we can keep having exciting "upsets" in our tournament.

I found a proxy server that would permit me to watch the CBS webcast of the game. Only took an hour. I don't understand why networks bother blacking out webcasts. Especially CBS, since they're blacking out themselves. Happy to know that by the time I got around it, the game is virtually over. Although, if anybody could come back from 18 down, it'd be Belmont. Right? Otherwise I wasted my time. . .

258 When Belmont got in the other day I wrote a post about the early teams which had won their conference titles/tournaments. About Belmont I said "I thought Belmont was a horse race; who knew it was also a college?"

Well, they cut the lead to 30. So, anybody's game, really. Used to be, I'd just be happy for having beaten the system. I wonder if there's some specific age where moral victories tend to lose their sweetness.